CloverReef

There are actually a looot of interesting word processors out there for free. I’ve tried most of them because I’m not a fan of the typical MS Word style. Too many features I don’t use so it takes up too much Memory. Like yWriter, which is designed by a writer for writers. It lets you plan and organize scenes and keep character lists in the writing file and much more. Downside was it cluttered the folder it was in, which was what made me ultimately stop using it. 

There are a lot of distraction-free processors (Designed to write full screen without panels/menus visible) , from simple no-bells-and-whistle ones, to slightly more complex. My favourite of these is FocusWriter, because it has a spellcheck and wordcount, and it allows you to customise the background so I can write on any picture I stick in it, from blue birds to half naked men to, I don’t know, Grumpy cat. These kinds of writers you’ll wanna pair with something like Libreoffice or WPS writer for formatting/editing.

But when it comes to ones like MS word, I agree with the others, Libreoffice is excellent. I like it much better than OpenOffice even if they are from the same vein. If you want something lighter with similar features, WPS writer is an excellent lightweight alternative, and Google docs is great. I use google exclusively for collab work, but I prefer to work offline for my solos with Focus/Libre combo (since I’m on Linux and WPS doesn’t work well on mint, sadly.) 

An unusual one I haven’t mentioned is Jarte. Some people looove it, some people hate it. It’s certainly different. Have fun with your return to writing! Trying new processors is fun. I envy you! 

Ha thank you for addressing my OP.
I really didn't intend for a debate to break out when I started this, but debates are healthy and often fascinating as long as people don't get too pissed off. This one remained civil I think, though. (Very much so compared to the one on facebook...)
I know other writers with very diverse representations of cultures in their stories who worry about this sort of thing as well. I thought it might be useful for people like us to get some perspective on the subject. I'm never going to stop worrying about other people's feelings. It's my nature, and as frustrating as it can be, I like that part of me. So I'd still like to hear how you guys figure out the best way to be respectful in your own stories. I think Chrissy gave a good example in her first post about the dude sitting on the porch.

Blackbird
By CloverReef

Summary:
Blackbird is out for blood. Seven notorious criminals baited and raped his little brother, and he will do everything in his power to snuff them out. Enter Malti Arvika, one of the most infamous men of the city's underworld, and an irresistible opportunity to get the vengeance Blackbird craves. If only he could figure out whose side Malti was really on.

Feedback: Brightens my day.
Fandom: Original
Warnings: M/M, M/M/M/+, Anal, Oral, Bondage, S&M, Rape, Violence, Minor character death
Solo story or chaptered story: Chaptered
URL: http://original.adult-fanfiction.org/story.php?no=600107958

I hope you like Blackbird. I like it, but it's possible I'm biased. Remote possibility, of course. Well, I had written this long, pandering thing here all about kissing the feet of readers and throwing engagement rings at reviewers, but I deleted it. After all the work I put into perfecting it too. Decided to go the dignity route, but this got real boring real quick... So...

Um...

Screw it. Where'd those friggin' rings go?

Happy reading!

I think in some cases, seeing something you are passionate about (whether it be religion or culture or race or something different entirely) written full of inaccuracies, stereotypes, etc, can be frustrating. Even more so if that writing is given credence, popularity or validation of any other type. I understand why some might get upset in those circumstances. But when it comes to fantasy like JK Rowling, where everything is just a product of her imagination, it becomes a grey area. On one hand, fantasy is fantasy. She is clearly not saying her universe is based in fact. On the other hand, if someone feels her portrayal demeans or trivializes their culture or something else they’re passionate about, their hurt and frustration is valid. But should writers and other artists cater to anyone and everyone who might be offended by their stories? Fuck no. I think writers and other artists should cater to the issues they’re passionate about.

Whether you’re respectful within reason, hypersensitive to the feelings of select/all  readers, or throw caution to the wind and go batshit crazy with weird verging-on-insensitive cultural theories/fantasies, all writers need to feel this out and decide where they stand for themselves. You know, so long as you’re not blatantly and aggressively mean-spirited. 

My favourite reviews are the ones full of analysis. Where they ask questions or ponder events that occurred, or when they question motives or make guesses at what will happen after a cliffhanger. I love it when they say why they love or hate characters and who they think the chars should hook up with. Those are the reviews I go back to years later for a little motivation when I'm lacking. Of course, I love the concrit, the blatant praise, and the quick li'l, "plz rite more"s too.

Chapter 11 has gone up!
http://original.adult-fanfiction.org/story.php?no=600107958&chapter=11 
Please pay attention to the warnings.  (Though if you’ve made it this far in the story, a little violence and sex… and violent sex shouldn’t scare you off.)

If free speech is a right, then one has a duty to be offended (at times), otherwise the freedom of speech isn’t being fully exercised, IMO.  
Like BW, I too will put in some research into the story, creating backgrounds, etc, because I like a certain plausible realism to it, but there are definitely elements that aren’t realistic.  Heck, some of my characters would likely have been labeled as sex offenders a long time ago….  That said, there are aspects of the story where the research isn’t needed, and a stereotype works adequately because it’s not the main point.  (ie, a waiter, a clerk, or otherwise unimportant role).
Just my $0.02 worth.

Author: tcr Title: Blood and Honour
Summary: In the years leading up to World War II, four friends are trapped in hostile territory.  Doing what they think is best for their survival, they make the choices that will lead them down their individual paths and alter their lives in what could be the worst possible ways.
Feedback: Much appreciated.  It helps to understand and improve.
Fandom: Original
Warnings: F/F, M/M, M/F, Anal, Rape, Abuse, Tort, Violence, MCD, MiCD
Solo story or chaptered story: Chaptered.
URL: http://original.adult-fanfiction.org/story.php?no=600108390   Thank you for reading it and I hope you enjoy Blood and Honour.  It’s been an interesting experience.  Any advice, thoughts, points, things that caught your fancy, something you like, or dislike – it all goes towards improvement, after all – are appreciated.

Ha thank you for addressing my OP.
I really didn't intend for a debate to break out when I started this, but debates are healthy and often fascinating as long as people don't get too pissed off. This one remained civil I think, though. (Very much so compared to the one on facebook...)
I know other writers with very diverse representations of cultures in their stories who worry about this sort of thing as well. I thought it might be useful for people like us to get some perspective on the subject. I'm never going to stop worrying about other people's feelings. It's my nature, and as frustrating as it can be, I like that part of me. So I'd still like to hear how you guys figure out the best way to be respectful in your own stories. I think Chrissy gave a good example in her first post about the dude sitting on the porch.

I’ve heard agents can be incredibly rude unless you’re a “name.” 
I’ve also heard that increasingly, authors are managing to get published without an agent, and can also publicize their books, and go on blog tours, and reach out to readers all without that pesky agent, and the hand in the pocket. Just sayin’…

Blackbird
By CloverReef

Summary:
Blackbird is out for blood. Seven notorious criminals baited and raped his little brother, and he will do everything in his power to snuff them out. Enter Malti Arvika, one of the most infamous men of the city's underworld, and an irresistible opportunity to get the vengeance Blackbird craves. If only he could figure out whose side Malti was really on.

Feedback: Brightens my day.
Fandom: Original
Warnings: M/M, M/M/M/+, Anal, Oral, Bondage, S&M, Rape, Violence, Minor character death
Solo story or chaptered story: Chaptered
URL: http://original.adult-fanfiction.org/story.php?no=600107958

I hope you like Blackbird. I like it, but it's possible I'm biased. Remote possibility, of course. Well, I had written this long, pandering thing here all about kissing the feet of readers and throwing engagement rings at reviewers, but I deleted it. After all the work I put into perfecting it too. Decided to go the dignity route, but this got real boring real quick... So...

Um...

Screw it. Where'd those friggin' rings go?

Happy reading!

Blackbird is back now after a few months hiatus. A brother with a spiraling meth addiction has made the real life situation a little unpredictable, so updates might come slow, but they’ll come! Chapter 9 is up, and have a few additional chapters written and ready to go up.

Are any of you familiar with a podcast series called Friday Night Fanfiction? Basically, they find bad fanfic and read it aloud as a sort of drinking game. Anyone who trips on a word, laughs, or otherwise interrupts their reading has to drink.
So imagine my surprise to hear total strangers reading my story “Rated F: A Phineas and Ferb Sex Comedy” aloud! They did a lot of goofily inappropriate voices and accents and such (although I liked hearing Buford’s lines in the voice of Carl from Aqua Teen Hunger Force), but I actually found a lot of it really funny. And it was gratifying that even though they all had a problem with the notion of an explicit sex story about preteen cartoon characters--which was the reason they chose it to read on the show--a lot of them liked the story anyway. (As one of them said, “I want to stay mad at this, but I just can’t.”)
Ultimately, I think my reaction to their reading was the same as their reaction to my story: I kept thinking that I should be offended by it, but it was so funny that I didn’t care. In fact, I felt kind of flattered by it, kind of the way some musicians do when they find out that Weird Al Yankovic has parodied one of their songs.
And what was especially flattering is that they picked one of my stories instead of something from JayDee.

You do realize that plot bunnies are impossible to actually kill, don't you? They just respawn, and you never know what they'll pick up on their way back. Trust me on this.

Under Joan's Bed


Thank you for your review! Yeah, I did a whole bunch of weekly prompt fics and the flashfic length meant that the chapters had to be short and quite often the full stories too I did plan another three parts, but I didn't write the plan down and then I forgot it. Was going to involve kinky tentacle sex at some point, I think. The prompts are also responsible for me using words I wouldn't necessarily think about as there was quite often words that don't crop up in my regular writing as the prompt. Or, indeed, in any writing anywhere. Such as Frittle. So I guess they get the vocab credit!
I might re-do my sig with the flames I got rather than reviews. They're deleted but I have copies in the old flames thread, and most of them would probably be seen as harsh but fair. Thank you again!

I have to admit when I first started posting, I was obsessed with the hits, rates and of course back then, lack of reviews. The longer I'm here posting the less I care. I still love getting reviews, of course who doesn't, but I'm less ecstatic about it now than in the beginning.
I look at it this way: I wrote the piece already so I've gotten my enjoyment from the project so if posting it can entertain just one other person, I've gone above and beyond what I set out to do. If that one person takes the time to tell me they liked it, well that's just icing on the cake.
I'd rather spend my time writing than obsessing over my stats because in the end they really don't mean anything. This isn't a popularity contest, I think the original poster mentioned something about this site being fair about the updates page not being ruled by popularity, it doesn't hurt me if someone has written something that people love and it gets a million hits. I can encourage the other writers here because their success in no way affects my work. It actually makes me happy to see the few people on here that I've come to call friends, succeed in their writing endeavors.
And that's my $0.25 worth. (My opinion is way more expensive than DP's because I'm a diva )
CL

I will state, as one of the archive moderators, I rarely warn an author if the only tag missing is NoSex, just like I don't warn for a missing M/F tag if the story is in the Het subcategory. It honestly shouldn't matter, and I say that as an author as well as a moderator.
Adult fiction means a great deal more than erotica. It can mean dealing with darker themes: loss, anxiety, depression, and the like. There's no requirement that stories here have sex, and there's not even a requirement that stories contain "adult" content. Many authors come here simply because we are an actively moderated archive, and we respond to our members promptly when there is a question or an issue, such as suspected plagiarism. It makes the authors feel safe, because we care about their stories as much as they do.
There are sites that only permit erotic content. We are not one of them, and I for one am quite proud of that.

Okay, so I'm not really an arachnophobe, but given the enormous spiders in Dragon Age, hells, in any D&D based fic, I'd imagine there are some out there. I just can't recall any, although I'm having a sudden urge to write something with driders...

In all honesty, I think writing, and the inherent escapism of living for a time in another world of one's own creation, is probably one of the healthiest and sanest responses to stress that there is.
It's often easier to face hard issues in the settings we create and control, and I'm frequently surprised when I see a solution to a real life problem after I've been writing about something quite different. The skills I use as a writer to resolve conflict in my stories and among my characters seem to trigger a sort of thinking outside the box effect in my real life, if that makes any sense.

Welcome to the real world!

There are these things called rules, and standards. Part of being an adult is learning to adhere to rules, and having standards. I'm sorry if a story of yours/a story you read was taken down for not adhering to the rules or falling below this sites standards.
They have every right to remove material that violates terms of service, they are paying to maintain this domain which you get to use for free. I'm sorry if you don't understand the concept of a ToS, and that it has nothing to do with adult oriented material. The site literally says "Adult Fan fiction" Adult is a subjective term. Adult, can mean anything from graphic sex, graphic violence or extreme situations. Adult also varies by country, what is considered adult in the US is not the same as in the UK, EU Canada or Japan.
In closing, you should have read the Terms of service before posting, I know... reading is hard. But if you had you would have posted here, you wouldn't have wasted your time and I wouldn't be laughing at how juvenile your argument is. Seriously... are you 12? Even porn sites have rules for content.
TL:DR ... Learn 2 read ToS before signing up.

"READ THIS STORY OR I'LL SWALLOW YOUR SOUL"

Can I stick my name on this card too and pretend I pitched in for it? Happy Mother's day to all the mothers on this site. Hope your kids spoiled you, and if they didn't, I hope they feel super guilty and you had fun anyway.

I can appreciate the feelings you both have, but I assure you both that I did not feel pressured or censored -- if you actually knew me in real life you'd know that I am a staunch champion of free expression, almost to a fault, and would never even consider bowing to censorship. So you are hereby absolved of guilt in this matter. Only I am to blame for the stuff I do. And I decided the stories aren't worth the potential hurt feelings.
As I indicated, I am reworking both stories, and they are almost finished. I actually decided to meld them and make the former-Hailee story a future new chapter in the former-Vanessa story, which now has an OC main character. After thinking about it I realized that changing the stories to Original Fiction would allow them to go in some different directions, which is creatively freeing.
On balance, I think this whole affair is a step forward. Thanks for your input, BronxWench and JayDee!
PS: In the (highly) unlikely event that I actually do have (heretofor silent) fans, please do not devour JayDee, who only meant well.

Okay, I just got done reading the first chapter of a story, it was a m/m slash original. The word count was 1,564 words and the author used the MC's name twice, once in dialog when another character said it. The rest of the chapter he was referred to as the intern (5), the brunette (2), the slim intern (1), the slender intern (1), the slim brunette (2), the young man (2), the brunette intern (3), the young intern (3)(yes I went through and listed all of them) and my absolute least favorite the smaller male (1).
I felt bad because I had to quit reading after the first chapter and she'd asked me to review her work. I ended up sending her a pm with my critique because I didn't want my own bias to color other reader's opinion before they read the story.
Why can't people use their character's names or just him or he? I can see maybe once to get out one of the character's attributes but come on, it's so annoying. It totally ruins the story for me because I can't get past it. It's gotten to be my biggest pet peeve and I've even begun to notice it happening in published works lately.
Why has this become a thing lately and how do we make it stop?
Is it just me or does this drive anyone else crazy?

Thank you Magus! Omg I was waiting for someone to say that. I understand the frustration with so many writers doing the stereotypical top/bottom roles in gay relationships. I do. And they have every right to be frustrated when there's a lack of representation for the other relationship options. That being said, strict top/bottom relationships are valid. Any relationship style you want to explore in writing is valid, and I hope new and seasoned writers alike don't let anyone tell them otherwise.
Pet peeves and frustrations are valid too. Just makes me feel bad to see writers told they're wrong about the subject matter they enjoy... I'm not talking about the obvious and hateful misconceptions, though. Screw those!